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Patented Sept. 9, 1919.

C. B. STEELE.

CAR UNDERFRAME.

APPLICATION men MAR. 2a; 1917.

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C. B. STEELE. CAR UNDERFRAME.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 24. I917.

Patented Sept. 9,1919.

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CHARLES BREWSTER STEELE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

CAR-UNDERFRAME.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed. March 24, 1917. Serial no, 157,081,

To all whom it may concern: it

Be it known that I, CHARLES BREWSTER STEELE, citizen of the United States of America, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inCar-Underframes, of

which the following is a specification.

My nvention is an underframe for passenger cars in which the car body and plat:

form supporting construction is provided with the greatest rigidity and strength with the employment of the most economic minimum of materials.

Another object of my invention is the reduction of the car weight and an increase of the car strength by constructingmembers to perform functions in addition to their own functions, thereby eliminating the use of superflous materials.

Another object of my invention is the employment throughout the construction of models, shapes, and sizes of materials of standard stock manufacture, thereby facilitating and reducing the cost of production.

Another bject of my invention comprises the extension of each of the platform knees from the body framing in duplex formation upon separate horizontal planes to sustain a separate landing at an individualelevation on each of the duplex supports of the knees, thus providing a novel economy of platform space for isolatingly accommodating the conductor, avoiding interruption, crowding, and standing of incoming passengers on the platform, and facilitating and expediting the rapid exit of passengers.

rlnother object of my invention consistsin enfilade and lateral bracing, trussing, and

strengthening of the underframe base along its entire central longitudinal plane, in support of the mid-course aisle area of the flooring, which portion of the car sustains the greatest stram of wear and tear beardown weight. a a

Another obJect of my invention is in constructing the compound knees, or platform supports, so they will not bend or buckle at their elbows, thus insuring the knees against sa ggiug under platform weight.

Another object of my invention is the economic bracing, trussing, and strengthening of the platform framing to withstand shocks and prevent the usual wreckage of the platforms by collisions.

Another object, of my invention is the construction of the platform underframing for its adaptation to various types of passageways and means of ingress and egress.

Another object of my lnvention is the economic conjunctive securing of the longitudinal and lateral cross members and their fillers to brace and truss the car and form supports for the flooring.

Another object of my invention is in providing a platform underframe construction that permits the employment of short riser steps for the safe and comfortable ingress and egress of passengers, while maintaining the standard size of car, and without reducing the size of trucks or traction wheels.

Another object of my invention is the construction of the platform supports to PTO, vide landings of different levels for the ingress and egress passageways.

Another object of my invention is the con struetion of platform supports that permit the location of steps strongly posited wholly within the vertical plane of the side walls of the car extended.

Another object of my invention is the construction of platform underframing supports that permit safe short riser steps located Wholly within the vertical plane of the side walls of the car extended having the lowermost steps posited at most conveniently short riser distances from thesurface of the roadway.

Another object of my invention is the construction of platform underframing supports permitting stairways provided with immovable short riser steps located wholly within the vertical. plane ofthe side walls of the car extended, all of which is hereinafter more fully described in the specification, designated in the appended claims, and illustratedin the accompanying drawings, (accurately drafted to scale) in which like characters represent likeparts in the different figures respectively.

Figure l is a plan of one end of the underframe, broken away, showing the side sillplates,the angle cross-sills, angle braces, angle center sills, bolster, and end sill, the conipoundlytrussed curved elbow knees extending from the side sill plates to thetoepiece and bumper, the cross-plate stair casing and landing riser, the lowermost step frames, and the angle cross-braces.

Fig. 2 is an elevation of an end of the Patented. Sept. 9, 1919.

body underframe, showing the side sill plates, the end sill, the cross plate brace staircasing and landing riser, partly broken away to disclose a full front view of the compoundly trussed curved knees, and the frame of the lowermost steps.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of an end of the underframe, with the body portion partly broken'away, showing the side-sill plates, reinforced by the window post and brace angles, the compoundly trussed curved knees forming platform and double landing suports, the cross plate brace stair-casing and anding riser, and the lowermost stepframes.

Fig. 4'is a side elevation of a fragment of a modification of the knee, showing a central reinforcing member for preventing the knee from bending, or sagging, at its elbow.

Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the modification shown in Fig. 4.

f Fig; 6 is a side elevation'modification of a compound knee, showing the two knee members mutually supporting each other with different curves, with one member forming the anti-bend truss curvatures of the knee elbow. V

' Fig. 7 is a fragmentary isometric perspective of the longitudinal central truss, and lateral cross sills of the car frame, showing their manner of crossing and securement to one another with their fillers rising to a common level upon which the flooring of the car is supported and secured.

Fig. 8 is a View similar to Fi 7, showing the flooring applied to and supported by the longitudinal and diagonal truss mem bers.

The numeral 1, represents the side sill plates, which extend the full length of the car body, and may be suitably reinforced for a desirable distance for supporting the bolsters, and the side sill plates, 1, are suitably secured at both ends thereof to end sills, 2, preferably 10 inch channels, thereby forming the rectangular outside frame of the car body proper. From center to center of the end sills and suitably secured thereto, longitudinally extends the central truss, 3, preferably formed of 2 inch angles placed leg to leg together, upon which rest suitable flooring fillers, 4. Braces, 44, and 45, preferably 2 inch angles, secured to the side sills, diagonally cross and interlap the central longitudinal truss, 3, at suitable intervals intermediate the bolsters, the legs of the truss, 3, and braces, 44, and 45, being suitably cut and forming strong interlacing interlocking mortise joints at their points of union, suitably secured together, as shown inFig; 7 thereby trussing the underframe from its central plane to its exterior framing'upon centripetal divergent angles, adding. thereto a superiority of strength and stability, .while the fillers, 4', attached to all-of the many angled trusses, upon which the ear flooring is supported and secured, cause the flooring to perform the additional function of greatly intensifying the solidarity of the plan structure to resist stress and strain. The numeral, 5, represents the bolster, and, 6, cross sills, preferably 4 inch I beams, extending to and from, and suitably secured to the side sill plates, 1, and upon which, also, rest suitable flooring fillers, Extending at equal inclinations from the junc-- tures of the cross beams, 6, and the side sill plates, 1, and meeting the longitudinal central truss, 3, midway of the end sills, 2, to which they are suitably secured, diverge and converge the three-point suspension braces, 7, and, 8, upon whose fillers, 4, the car flooring is, also, supported and secured, said three-point suspension braces, 7, and, 8, and their fillers, 4, combinatively forming flooring supports in conjunction with the fillers, 4, of the longitudinal central truss, 8, said multiple three-point truss reinforcements between the end sills, bolsters, and side framing, truss locking the body frame cor ners to successfully resist angular shocks and collisions.

Secured to the inner part of the side sill plates, 1, the pair of compound knees, 9, extend under and are secured and upheld to the end sill, 2, by the stirrups, 10, and, 11., and project to the bumper end, 12, where they are secured in any suitable manner to the seven and four inch channels, 13, and, 14, the toe-piece, 15, being supported there upon. The knees, 9, are preferably formed of two six inch channels, placed and secured back to back, webs flush, the elbow of each channel having a curvature and angularity different from that of the elbow of its companion channel so that one channel extends from beneath the end sill upon one level to form the support for the upper platform landing, and the other channel curving at different degrees of angularity to and from the upper and lower arcs of the circles of the elbow of its companion channel, to form a parallel support for a lower landing having a different elevation, thus causing one channel to conform, approximately, to a line angle across the bowl of the curvature of the other channel, one with another, whereby both channels mutually truss the curvatures and angularities of each other in such a manner that vertical stress movement is impossible, positively insuring the elbows of the knees against bending, and assuring the knees a rigid inflexibility to sustain excessive weight and prevent the car platform from twisting or sagging, but any means may be employed for upholding the knees to car end sills, or their securement to the body of the under-frame, such, for instance, as the anchorage of the knees to cross members, or otherwise. It will be noted that in the preferred form one channel of a knee provides support for the floor of a landing, and the other, shorter, channel the support for the floor of another landing, both chan. nels forming a compound knee, equally, as well as separately, contributing to the strong and rigid support of the stairs and steps, the extensions, 19, and, 20, being upheld and supported to the extensions, 16, and, 17, by the connection hanger brackets, 28, that are suitably secured to and therebetween and fit flush with and to the tops and bottoms of the webs of the extensions, 16, 17, 19, and 20, thereby mutually and economically achieving the double function of providing strong and rigid inflexible support of land ings at different elevations, and true stability of the entire platform, the same principle of rendering it impossible to bend plat form knees being disclosed in Figs. 4, 5, and 6, of the drawings, for adaptation to cars having various platform elevations and surfaces, and different types of passageways, steps, ingress and egress openings, my invention not being confined to any specific form, device, or arrangement, but readable on and interpretable by any and all means and methods of accomplishing the same and like results to the fullest extent embraced in the broadest principle of invention there in involved.

The plate-girder, 18, transversely spans the knees, 9, and is suitably secured to the ends of the shorter extensions, 16, and, 17, and the fulcrum points of the longer extensions, 19, and, 20, the plategirder, 18, strongly and rigidly bracing the knees, 9, to each other in parallel plane's, forming an inflexible riser division between the knee elevations, and support for the ingress and egress stairs and steps, the ingress-step, 21, dupleX-egress-step, 22,.and the front single egress step, 23, being, respectively, and suitably, secured to plate-girder, 18, the toepiece, 15, and the end sill, 2. The plategirder, 18, may be made, preferably, as shown, or in any suitable form, integral of and with the lowermost steps, or it may serve as the step-horse with the treads and risers cut therein, or to support the stairs and steps in any other suitable manner.

The brace trusses, 24:, and 25, cross to and from, and are secured to the channels 19, and, 20, of one elevation, and diagonally incline and extend from the plate-girder, 18, to the bumper 12, while the brace trusses, 26, and, 27 cross, diagonally incline, and extend from the plate-girder, 18, to the end sill, 2, and are secured to the channels, 16, and 17, these brace trusses, 24, 25, 26, and 27 preferably 2 inch angles, being fiointed and bolted at their central points of union by. mortising their legs like unto the jointures shown in Fig. 7, and their fillers, 4, also, present a common level upon which the flooring of their respective landings are supported and secured, thus, together with the three-point suspension braces, 7, and, 8, and longitudinal central truss, 3, obtaining a bracing-trussing resistance on the rigid and intensely strong basis of longitudinal, transverse, and diagonal truss suspension that forms multiples of three point suspension from bumper to bumper throughout the plan of the underframe structure. The twelve suspension points disclosed form the sum of the multiple of four times three of the triangles formed by the trusses 3, 6, 6, 7, and 8, fillers 4, and side sills 1, between each bolster and end sill; the triangles of the trusses 24:, 25, 26, and 27, their fillers 1, the knee members 16, 17, 19, 20, transverse plate girder, 18, and bumper 12, disclosing the sum of twenty-four suspension points of the eight triangles thereof, and as the distance between bolsters would disclose thirty suspension points of the ten triangles therein formed by similar types of trusses, in accordance with the scale of the drawings, it is obvious that themultiples of three point suspension may be increased or decreased, and any type of trusses and any angularities of three point suspension, and any types of fillers may be employed without departing from the broad principle and spirit of my invention. The three point suspension principle of the longitudinal, transverse, and diagonal members produce the strongest system of underframe trussing, the fillers serving both as stiffeners and flooring supports, the common top-levels of the various filler series enabling the flooring, not only, to be laid at an even surfaced elevational level, but by its securement to and upon the three point suspension angles of the fillers and trusses, supply additional strength and rigidity to the square of the underframe structure with minimum expenditure of weight and materials.

In Figs. 4, and 5, are shown a modification of knees constructed of two channels, 29, and 30, each having the same elbow curvature, provided with a central member, 31, of conformable configuration, having a dorsal fin, 32, spanning the bowl of the elbow in a straight line from the respective arcs of the upper and lower circles of the elbow curves, all securely bolted, or riveted together.

In Fig. 6, is shown a modification of a knee, constructed of the two channels, 33, and, 34, placed webflush, back to back, the channel, 34, being of shorter length than its companion channel, 33, each channel having a different elbow curvature and angularity, the elbow, 35, of the channel, 34, spanning the bowl of the elbow, 36, of the other channel, 33, and forming a line truss to and from the arcs of the circles of the curves of the elbow, 36, the channel, 33,

thence extending at a slightly higher level along the plane of the other channel, 34, until channel, 33, reaches the bumper, 12, where it is suitably secured to the bumper channels, 13, and, 14, where its end is covered by the toe-piece, 15, such modified knee construction embracing the identical principle of invention of the preferred form, but adaptable to use ofplatforms having floors of equal elevation.

The window post angles, 37, diagonal brace angles, 38, and bottom side sill angles, 39, add strength to the side sill plates, and their legs support fillers to which is secured the finish surface of the car side walls.

The numeral, 21, represents the lowermost ingress step, which is scaled 10;}- nches from the road rail and street surface, and

the dotted lines, 41, indicate the elevation of the next step and landing, 42, the following step and landing elevation, and, 43, the elevation of the ear floor, all the steprisings being shown of the same equal, easy, and convenient measurement of 10% inches, but the heights of supports, and elevatlons of platforms, steps, landings, and risers may be decreased, increased, broadened, lengthened, or otherwise modified, adapted, and utilized with various forms of cars, without departing from the broad spirit and intent of my invention, for instance, such as disclosed by my patent for passengercar, dated May 1, 1917, No. 1,224,681.

The ideal passenger car must comprise the lightest gross weight of car possible that insures absolute strength and rigidity, includ ing a practical mode .of true construction, lowest cost of high grade materials and production, ease and convenience of operation, comfort of passengers, and assurance of freedom from accidents. Steel cars are, not only, stronger, but many steel members found to be lighter than wood, street and interurban railways obtaining most satisfactory results from cars having steel underframing and wooden finish. Economy of car weight must be principally attained by the reliable construction of underframing such as herein disclosed, in which the greatest strength is derived by the methods of distribution, bracing, and uniting of the fewest and lightest members consistent with correct engineering science, every surplus pound of weight causing unnecessary expenditure and cost of power, and loss in earnings. Close calculation has estimated that cost of maintenance and operation is five cents per pound, per year, per car, so that a car, for instance, weighing fifty two (52,000) thousand pounds will cost $2,600.00 per year for maintenance and operation, while a car weighing thirty nine (39,000) thousand pounds will cost $1,950.00 per year for maintenance and operation, the lighter Weight ear effecting a saving of-operative and maintenance expense of $650.00 peryear, thus, by the time that the lighter weight car has become worn and impaired, the saving in expense of its maintenance and operation will aggregrate the price of its original cost, the sum so saved purchase another car, and thereby supply a new car free of cost. In addition the superior construction herein disclosed of body strength and rigid non-bendable knees, giving the greatest strength and integrity to the platform, and insuring it against sagging, is of paramount importance, while the means that the knees provide of employing safe, convenient, easy, comfortable steps for the ingress and egress of passengers reduces dangers to life and limb to a minimum, and eliminates liability, expense, and loss to the railway company due to accidents pertaining to cars of other construction.

In Fig. 8 is shown a fragmentary perspective View illustrating the manner in which the car floorings are upheld by the longitudinal trusses, 3, the suspension braces, 44, and 45, all made, preferably, of standard mill stock equal legged angles, upon the horizontal legs of which are disposed and secured the flooring fillers, 4, which form with one another multiples of three point suspension supports for the floorings, 46,

9 sa1d fioorings, 46, belng secured to the fillers,

4, in any suitable manner, along the planes of the divergent angles of the three point suspension of the truss flooring supports, designated by the nails, screws, or bolts, 47.

The three point suspension trusses 3, 44, and 45, with their reinforced fillers, 4, which may be of wood, concrete, or other suitable material, and the fioorings, 46, which are upheld and secured, also, upon the points and angles of three point suspension, combinatively oppose and truss one another in every divergent angular direction and form. a foundation structure that is so compact, strong, and rigid that it will withstand the greatest shocks and impacts without damage, its wedgelike tightness preserving intact the true square of its plan rigidity under the most severe stress of strain and wrenching, the flooring thus performing the double function of a walkway and an additionally economic trussing binder throughout the car understructure.

What I claim as my invention, is:

l. A car underframe having a body portion, members extending from the body portion each provided with opposably curved angularities that form unbcndable supports to sustain platform weight.

2. A car having a body portion, members extending from the body portion each having different angularities trussing one another that form inflexible supports to sustain platform weight.

3. A car underframe consisting of members forming a body portion, members eX- tending upon different elevations from the body portion to support landings.

4. A car underframe consisting of side sill plates provided with upright longitudinal and oblique braces having fillers and longitudinal and oblique braces supplied with fillers crossing interlacing and interlocking each other at different levels forming trussed floor sills.

5. A car underframe consisting of side sill plates provided with upright longitudinal and oblique braces having fillers, longitudinal and oblique braces supplied with fillers crossing interlacing and interlocking each other at different levels forming trussed floor sills secured to the side sill plates, and supports provided with means upholding the weight of the car platform.

6. A car underframe consisting of side members, connected to longitudinal and oblique bracing members that cross interlace and interlock one another provided with fillers forming floor supports, and members extending from the side members provided with means for supporting a platform having landings and steps at different elevations of the platform.

7. A car underframe consisting of side, end, and cross members, supports extending from the side members provided with means for supporting a platform having passenger landings at different elevations on the platform.

8. A car underframe having side, end, and cross members forming a body frame, supports extending upon different elevations from the body frame for supporting landings having different levels.

9. A car underframe having a body portion, supports extending at different elevations from the body portion to support a plurality of platforms, each platform having a different elevation.

10. A car underframe having a body framing, supports extending at different elevations from the body framing to support a plurality of landings.

11. A car underframe having a body portion, means having different elevations connected with the body portion for supporting landings having different elevations.

12. A car underframe provided with means to support a platform composed of landings having different elevations for the ingress and egress of passengers.

18. A car underframe provided with means to uphold ingress and egress landings having different elevations separated by a reinforcement girder.

14:. A car underframe having means for upholding landings upon different elevational locations of the upholding means, and means for upholding steps for ingress and egress to and from the different elevations of the landings, whereby the landings and steps do not protrude beyond the vertical plane of the side walls of the main car body structure supported by the underframe.

15. A car underframe having means to support a platform having an ingress landing and an egress landing andsteps wholly within the vertical plane of the side framing of the underframe extended, said platform supporting means sustaining an ingress landing at an elevation different from that of the elevation at which the platform supporting means sustains the egress landing.

16. A car underframe having means to support a platform provided with a plurality of landings each having a difierent elevation, each landing having exclusive means of ingress and egress, the plurality of individually distinctive means of egress inclusive of a landing being diiferent from the individually distinctive means of ingress inclusive of another landing.

17. A car underframe provided with platform supports consisting of a pluratity of members secured together having curves in termediate their extremities, the curves of a member having different angles from the curves of another member, the curve of a member forming the hypotenuse of the .curves of a member to which it is secured.

18. A car underframe platform support consisting of a plurality members having curves intermediate their extremities and joined together, the curves of a member hav ing different arcs of circles from the curves of another member, the curves of a member forming the subtense of the curves of a member to which it is joined, thereby trussing the curves of the members to form a support that cannot bend at its curved portion.

19. A car underframe platform knee consisting of a plurality of members having curved elbows intermediate their extremities and joined together, the elbow curves of a member having different arcs of circles from the elbow curves of another member, the different elbow curves of each member forming a subtense of the curves of the member to which it is joined, thereby trussing the elbow curves of the members constructing a knee that cannot bend at the point of its elbow curves.

20. A car underframe platform knee consisting of a plurality of members having curved elbows intermediate their ends, the curves of the elbow of each member having different arcs of circles from those of any other member, so that when the members are joined together the different curves of the elbows of members form substences of the elbow curves of every other member thereby trussing and constructing a knee that can not sag at the points of its elbow curves under the weight of a platform.

21. A car underframe supportable and bracing structure having trussings interlocking one with another at a common point of unition provided with supportable means having a common top level for securing floorings thereupon at a uniform surface level.

22. A car underframe provided with platform supports, members bracing the platform supports having an overlapping-underlapping union joint.

23. A car underframe having a body portion, extensions for supporting a platform, a transverse plate connecting and bracing the extensions forming a division for landings of the platform.

24. A car underframe having a body portion, knees for supporting a platform, a transverse member connecting and bracing the knees and forming a riser for landings of the platform.

- 25'. A'car underframe having a body portion, knees for supporting a platform, a transverse member connecting and bracing the knees and forming a riser for landings of the platform, and members having fillers trussingthe knees.

' 26. A car underframe having a supportable member consisting of a plurality of members joined together, each of the same plurality of members provided with a bend (corresponding with the bend of another A member whereby the bend of each member forms a subtense with the bend of another member.

27 A car underframe consisting of side sill plates, upright longitudinal and oblique angles'having fillers bracing the side sill plates, longitudinal and oblique angles supplied with fillers crossing interlacing and interlocking with one another at different elevations forming trussed floor sills and braces secured to the side sill plates, and channels forming knees for upholding the weight of a car platform, all of standard patterns.

28. A car underframe consisting of a plurality of channels joined together each channel having a bend of similar configuration, the bend of one channel forming a subtense of the bend of another channel.

29. A car underframe having side sills and cross sills, members extending from the side and cross sills to support a platform, each member consisting of a plurality of units joined together, each unit being provided with elbows, the elbow of each unit of a member having a curvature different from the curvature of another unit so that the curvature of the elbow of a unit forms a subtense of another elbow to prevent a member from buckling at an elbow.

30. A car underframe having side and cross members, supports for upholding a platform consisting of a plurality of members joined together provided with elbows, the elbow of a member having a curvature unlike the curvature of the elbow of a member to which it is joined, the arc of an elbow forming the hypotenuse of the are of another elbow, thereby insuring the elbows of the supports against bending.

31. A car underframe having side and cross members, supports for upholding a platform consisting of a plurality of members joined together provlded with elbows, the elbow of each member having a different angularity, the members thereby forming supports to uphold a platform having landings of unequal elevation.

32. A car under-frame having structure for upholding a body, supports for upholding an extension thereof, recesses at the sides of the extension supports for accommodating step structure, step structure in the re cesses, and a member dividing the step structure of a recess into ingress and egress footpaths wholly within the vertical plane of the sides of the body upholding structure extended.

33. A car underframe provided with means to sustain a platform having landings thereon located at different elevations, an egress landing having exits therefrom at both sides of the platform, and an ingress landing providing ingress at a side of the platform.

34. A car underframe having side and end members, longitudinal truss members provided with fillers, truss members diagonally crossing the central members provided with fillers, the jointure of the longitudinal and diagonal members and fillers forming a union truss tie, all of the cross members and fillers having mutually equal top surface levels to support floorings on the underframe.

35. A car underframe having side and end members, platform supporting members ex tending from the side and end members pro-- vided with fillers, truss members crossing one another having fillers, the jointure of the cross truss members and fillers forming union truss tie joints providing a mutually equal top surface level to sustain floorings on the platform supports.

36. A car underfraine having side and cross members, platform supporting members extending from the side and end members provided with fillers, truss men'ibers having fillers crossing one another, forming .union truss joints at their points of juncture, all of the cross members having mutually equal top levels to support floorings on the platform supports.

37(A car underframe having side and end members, rectangular, longitudinal, and diagonal truss members provided with fillers, all of the truss members and fillers having a mutually equal top surface for supporting floorings on the members.

38. A car underframe having side and end members, longitudinal and diagonal truss members crossing one another provided with fillers having mutually equal top levels to support a flooring, mutually accommodating union tie joints spaced apart formed by the cross members along the center of the longitudinal axis of the underframe, the radiation of the cross mem bers from the union tie joints increasing the rigidity and decreasing the constructive weight of the underframe.

39. A car underframe having means for supporting a body, means for supporting a platform consisting of a plurality of landings each located at a different horizontal plane, means for supporting egress means of a landing at both sides of the platform, and means for supporting ingress means of another landing at a side of the platform.

40. A car platform underframe provided with means for supporting a landing having egress means at both ends thereof, and means for supporting a landing having an having a different elevation.

41. A vehicle underframe having side and end structure; members uniting and bracing the side and end structure forming a plan of multiples of three-point suspension trussings provided with common top levels; floorings upheld upon the common top levels thereof and secured thereto along the angles of the three-point suspension lines whereby the floorings cooperatively form additional three-point suspension trussings of the underframe.

42. A vehicle underframe having side and end structure; members having common top-levels trussing the side and end structure on a plan of three-point suspension; flooring upheld upon the trussing and fastened thereto along the angles of threepoint suspension lines whereby the threepoint lines of the flooring fastenings cooperatively enable the flooring to function as an additional three-point suspension trussing of the underframe.

43. A vehicle underframe having longitudinal, transverse and diagonal members, provided with fillers whose tops are in the same plane, flooring applied upon the fillers and secured thereto by fastening means radiating from the meeting points of the underframe members, whereby the flooring assists in trussing the underframe.

44. A car underframe having side and end members, and cross members forming pluralities of suspension point truss braces upholding car floorings secured thereto for lngress means at an end thereof, each landing strengthening the foundation area of the underframe.

45. A vehicle underframe having supports for a platform upholding landings thereof each landing having an individual horizontal elevation; a transverse member forming a step riser at the division of the individual elevations of the landings.

A6. A vehicle frame structure having means for upholding a compound platform consisting of passageways each having a different horizontal elevation, and means transversely bracing the platform upholding means forming a step riser between the floorings of the different horizontal elevations of the landings.

47. A car underframe having supportable outlining structure; longitudinal, transverse, and diagonal members trussing the supportable outlining members; fillers secured to the longitudinal, transverse, and diagonal trussing members, and floorings secured to the fillers.

48. A vehicle underframe having longitudinal and transverse outlining structure, members crossing to and from the outlining structure on oblique angles thereto, floorings applied upon the crossing members and secured thereto by fastening means radiating upon angles oblique to the angles of the outlining structure, whereby the floorings assist in trussing the underframe.

49. A vehicle underframe having rectangular outlines trussed by members crossing therebetween on angles oblique to the angles of the underframe outlines, supporting members applied to the truss oblique crossing members, flooring applied to the supporting members and secured thereto by fastening means radiating on angles oblique to the rectangular outlines of the underframe, whereby the flooring assists in additionally trussing the underframe for opposing twisting stress and strain.

50. A vehicle underframe having rectangular outlining structure, members crossing to and from the outlining structure 011 angles oblique to the angles of the outlining structure, stringers applied to the oblique crossing members, flooring applied to the stringers and secured thereto by fastening means radiating upon angles 'oblique to the angles of the outlining structure, whereby the flooring assists in trussing and resisting stress and strain of the underframe.

In testimony whereof I hereby afiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES BREWSTER STEELE.

Witnesses:

J. T. JoHNsoN, EDWARD MAYE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

